The Lorentian Officer
by The Avid Musician
Summary: Many different races make up the core of Starfleet. Ari is the first of her kind to be an officer. What does an empath do on a star ship? Why, Ship's Counselor, of course! McCoy/OC/Scotty later on HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: not mine._

**The Lorentian Officer**

A young alien sighed as she looked out on the skyline of her homework Lorenti. The very modern, artistic skyscrapers dominated the scene, glinting in the sunlight against the purple sky. Even at this tremendous height, the buildings still rose higher and higher into the sky.

She looked down to the ground far below her to watch the pearl and violet fruit vines sway in the wind. These vines stretched in rows between the bases of the buildings shaded from the vibrant blue sun by those same buildings. These buildings ranged in height from a half a mile to a full mile.

Almost all of the prominent species currently, among them humans, Vulcans, and Klingons, would find the planet for too cold at an average of 35° F. However, the inhabitants, the Lorentians, were adapted specifically for this temperature and climate. After all, this was summer on Lorenti.

On the other hand, winter on Lorenti was drastically different. Temperatures plummeted to an average of -120° F. During this time, they imported all of their food from the next planet in towards the solar system's sun. They financed this by exporting Lorentian silk and Ferilat venom, an extremely powerful avid used for all types of manufacturing. These two goods were some of the most expensive goods in the galaxy.

The inhabitants of Lorenti were just as old as their environment and economy. They had pale white skin and eyes of purple, blue, or silver, though silver was extremely rare. Their hair was predominantly jet black or purple, though silver was again an extremely strange possibility.

Most Lorentians were between four and five feet tall. In general, their build was thinner and lighter but quite muscular. They were again unusual in that their lifespan was roughly 500 years. Also, they had spectacular hearing and vision, both in normal lighting and darkness through ultraviolet vision.

Despite all this, most of the Lorentian's similarities with other races were shared with Vulcans. Both species had pointed ears, though Lorentian ears pointed more diagonally up and back rather than curving to point straight up. Also, they both ate only fruits, vegetables, and such.

In comparison, the Lorentians were humanoid, though there was very little other than that. They, of course, were taught English as well as their native tongue, though nothing more than that could be guaranteed.

Back to the Lorentian, she drew all of the skyline, meticulously sketching every detail to commit it to memory. She had already drawn her parents, brother, and closest friend Meris.

Sadness overwhelmed the artist again, and she though or pondered rather, of how she was leaving tomorrow. She knew as a certainty that she would not see her homeland again for at the very least four years. In all probability there was little to no chance that she would be back within seven years.

Having now finished her final sketch, the Lorentian carefully packed her final sketch along with her others before walking across her rather large room to her writing desk. She pulled up the Star Fleet Academy letter again. Once more, she immersed herself in it.

First of all, it bothered her that they called her Cadet Anari Tresina, though she knew she was too used to being called Ari.

Next, she skimmed the whole 'welcome to Star Fleet' part of the letter. After that came the interesting part. The letter stated that the day after her shuttle arrived, she would be assisting a Commander Spock in his teaching of an Advanced Hand to Hand Combat class and an Introduction to Xenobiology class. Additionally, it said that she would be taking classes in Psychology to be the Ship's Counsellor. Apparently, someone had informed Starfleet of the Lorentians' empathetic qualities. The rest was just some gibberish about thanking her for accepting the commission.

She merely shook her head and finished packing for the next day.

oooooooooo

The following day, Ari woke early in the morning. She quickly donned her officer uniform before grabbing her single bag and hauling it into the entryway. She came back and ate a quick breakfast before taking her bag to a landing pad two floor up in the same building.

Two minutes later, a shuttle of glistening silver landed on the pad. A door on the side of the craft slid open and the pilot disembarked. "Are you Lieutenant Tresina?" the human asked. She nodded and picked up her one and only bag. The young pilot followed her aboard.

On the five minute ride to the space station, Ari made several observations.

The pilot did not smell nearly as bad as she thought he would, considering he was human.

The pilot was more than a foot taller than her.

The pilot had much darker skin than she had ever seen before.

The pilot had ROUNDED eyes.

Humans were strange creatures indeed.

By the time she had completed these observations, the shuttle had arrived at the space station. The pilot helped her unload her bags before escorting her in silence to the ship that would take her to Earth, the SS Vernacular.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

When Ari stepped off the ship, there was a Cadet waiting for her. He wore the insignia of a medical officer, so he was clearly still taking classes at Star Fleet Academy. He was about 5' 10" with dark hair and eyes. His skin was tan, especially considering the shades she was used to.

When he saw her, the Cadet walked over to her and asked, "Lieutenant Tresina?"

She nodded.

"I'm Cadet McCoy. I'm here to show you around Star Fleet Academy for the day and get you acquainted with the grounds," he said. He sounded like he was quoting his orders.

Quite suddenly, he stopped speaking and asked, "I'm sorry. Can you even speak English?"

Ari snorted and said, "I speak multiple languages fluently. English is one of them."

"Sorry, Ma'am," he muttered.

At this, Ari laughed outright. As no one was nearby, she said, "How about you just call me Ari?"

"It's Leonard or Bones, whichever you prefer," he said gruffly, his true personality showing through, as well as his distinctly southern accent.

"It's good to meet you, Bones. Now, would you mind showing me where my dorm is? My arm feels like it's about to fall off," she said kindly.

"Let me take that," Bones said, taking her bag from her. As soon as he had a grip on it, he laughed and said, "So you're about as strong as your size implies?"

"If by that you mean I have trouble straight lifting something that weighs 30 pounds, then yes," she returned.

"Anything else I should know about? He asked teasingly.

"I recommend not coming into my room once the temperature is set," she said.

"And why not?" he asked, bending down slightly to look at her.

"It will be set to 35° F," she said with a shrug.

Bones frowned in surprise and asked, "What planet are you from?"

"Lorenti," she provided.

"The ice planet?" he asked, astonished.

"Is that what people call it?" she asked.

"You haven't been off planet before, have you?" he asked.

"Never," she said cheerfully.

"Well, welcome to Earth. By the way, aren't you a bit old to be a cadet?" she asked.

"I'm only 31, perfectly fine for a cadet!" he insisted. "What about you? Why is a lieutenant so young?" he said.

"Actually, I'm 43, still pretty young for a Lorentian," she corrected.

"That's impossible! You can't be more than 20!"

She shook her head and said, "Believe it."

The two continued to chat all the way to her quarters. However upon seeing them, Bones asked, "Why don't you have to share a room?"

"A little something about climate and _lieutenant_," she said, turning back to him from the temperature controls. "Could you please set the bags on the bed?" she said, returning her attention to the console.

Bones did as she asked before asking, "So what's your focus?"

"Psychology and xenolinguistics."

"What can you do with that, e communications officer?" he asked.

"There's a new position that will be tested out on the _USS Enterprise_ called Ship's Counsellor. You're looking at the first one," she explained, smiling.

"Really? Well, I'm going to be the assistant to the CMO on the _Enterprise_, once it's ready," Bones said.

Ari smiled and said, "Fantastic! I already know someone who'll be on the same ship as me!"

"Cadet!" a sharp voice called suddenly from behind them.

Both o them turned to see a grey haired man in an officer uniform striding toward him. "Captain Pike," Bones said, both for her benefit and for decorum.

"Is this the new lieutenant?" Pike asked.

"Yes, Sir," Bones said.

"Hello. I'm Captain Pike. I'm assuming you are Lieutenant Anari Tresina," the man said, looking down at her kindly with his hand out to shake.

"Yes, Sir. Pleasure to meet you," she said sincerely, reaching up to shake his hand.

"Lieutenant, is it true that your species are empaths?" the Captain asked.

"Yes, Sir," she said, nodding.

"Fascinating. No wonder they chose you to be the first Ship's Counsellor," Pike said.

Ari merely smiled in gratitude.

"Well, have a good day, Lieutenant, Cadet. Welcome to Starfleet Academy," he said honestly before walking away.

"He seemed friendly," Ari said once the Captain was gone.

"More than he was with the new recruits," Bones said, raising his eyebrows for a second.

oooooooooo

As Ari walked along the path outside, she heard a masculine voice ask from behind her, "Are you lost, Cadet?"

She turned to see young Vulcan in a Commander uniform. His hair was black and his skin pale, as was normal for a Vulcan. However, his eyes were not the usual totally expressionless pools of black that she was used to for Vulcans. His eyes were curious, betraying far more emotion than any Vulcan would ever allow. This man was a half-breed, which made him Commander Spock.

The second he saw her insignia of rank, he said quickly, "My apologies, Lieutenant. I mistook you for a Cadet. What are you doing out so late?"

"I was stargazing, Sir," she said simply.

"Might I enquire as to what species you are? I confess I have never seen your like," Spock said, obviously intensely curious.

"I am Lorentian, the only Starfleet officer as of yet from that system, just as you are the only half-Vulcan," she said briefly. As an afterthought, she added, "Sir."

"What is your name Lieutenant?" the Commander asked after a second.

"Tresina," Ari said briefly.

"Lieutenant Tresina, how did you know I was half Vulcan?" Spock asked delicately.

"Sir, your whole manner indicates that you are Vulcan, but your eyes are far too expressive. Naturally, due to your lack of other characteristics typical of other races, I deduced that you were half Vulcan and half human," Ari explained.

"That is an astute observation, Lieutenant Tresina. Tell me, how long have you been studying here?" His eyes shone with curiosity now.

"I arrived today, Sir," she said.

"Welcome to Starfleet," he said simply. His Vulcan half obviously thought it the only logical thing to say at this point.

"Thank you, Commander. Might I enquire as to why _you_ are out so late?" Now the curiosity was directed in the opposite direction.

"I was grading papers for my Vulcan Linguistics Class," he explained, off handed.

Ari nodded uncommitted understanding before asking, "As you are the only half Vulcan in Starfleet I know that you are Commander Spock, but to clarify you are teaching an advanced hand to hand combat class and an Introduction to Xenobiology class, are you not?"

"I am indeed," he said simply.

"This is an interesting coincidence. I am to be your assistant during those two classes beginning tomorrow," she said.

"So you are Lieutenant Anari Tresina," the Commander said in recognition.

"Yes," she replied simply.

"This would indeed be an interesting coincidence, as you said. I have not studied the physiology of your species, so might I ask how you are to assist me in an advanced hand to hand combat class?"

"My race is faster and more agile than either Vulcans or humans. Aside from that, we tend to be extremely flexible. Those two factors combined make for a good lesson in hand to hand combat. Would you not agree, Sir?"

"Is there anything else I should know for the class?"

"My senses are more developed as well, if that matters. I'll warn you now that I cannot stand high temperatures for long periods of time. My race is suited to a mean temperature of 35°. Other than that..._I can speak Vulcan, so don't think about making any comments about me,"_ she said, saying the last in Vulcan.

"Where did you learn to speak Vulcan?" he asked, thoroughly surprised that she knew the language without having been in Starfleet to learn it.

"On Lorenti, we are taught English, French, Chinese, Spanish, Lorentian, Vulcan, Klingon, Romulan, Andorian, and Tellarite, every dialect in each of those languages," she said, listing off all of the languages she knew on her fingers.

Spock looked astonished at this and asked, "How long are you in school on your homeworld?"

"We begin at the age of six and graduate at age 36," she said as though it were nothing.

"Fascinating," Spock said.

Ari looked up at the sky again and remembered just how late it actually was. "Well, Commander, I had best be going, and you as well," she said.

"Yes. I look forward to hearing more about your species tomorrow, Lieutenant Tresina," he said honestly.

"_Good night, Sir,"_ she said simply in Vulcan. She nodded her head to him before turning and walking back to her dorm which, thankfully, was hers alone.


	3. Chapter 3

_I'm sorry it took so long to update._

**Chapter Three**

The following morning dawned, and with it Starfleet Lieutenant Ari Tresina rose. She ate the Gairana fruit that she had packed for this very purpose before leaving her quarters. Outside of the dorm, many members of Starfleet, mostly human Cadets, walked about. Most were heading to their first class, just like Ari.

A quarter of an hour later, Ari walked into a classroom. Sitting at the desk at the front of the room was that same Commander Spock she had met the previous night. "_Good morning, Commander,"_ Ari called in Vulcan.

"Hello, Lieutenant. I believe you were sent the lesson plan for the coming week. As you can see, today is an overview of the course," Spock said, turning to face her.

She nodded, showing her understanding. Then, she looked up and asked, "What, precisely, could you use my assistance with in this course?"

"You may assist me in the answering of questions, the grading of assignments, and other such tasks," Commander Spock said.

Ari nodded, concealing her disappointment. She had hoped that she would be able to teach if even a little. Instead, she was stuck with these simple tasks that even a student could do easily.

"And of course, you may teach some of the lessons a little later in the semester," he finished.

Ari's head snapped up, and her eyes focused straight on him for a second. She mentally reached out for any emotions. He had sensed her disappointment and had felt...put out? It was hard to tell, for Vulcans buried their emotions deep within themselves. She could not help but smile at this. It was a comfort to know that Vulcans did, in fact, have emotions.

Suddenly, she realized what she was doing and looked down again at the data pad she had brought with her. Quickly, she skimmed through the list of main topics they would be studying. She had no reason to worry about this class because she already knew everything they would be covering. After all, she spoke Vulcan fluently.

By the time she had finished this task, students were arriving, filling up the seats quickly in the lecture hall. Seeing this, Ari quickly took a seat behind the desk, carefully crossing her legs and arranging her skirt.

A minute later, Spock stepped forward and said loudly so all of the students could hear, "Hello, Cadets, and welcome to Vulcan 1. I am Commander Spock, and this is Lieutenant Tresina." She nodded in acknowledgement.

From there, Spock proceeded to explain what was expected of the students and the main topics of study for the class. Ari listened intently for the whole of the time, analysing his speech and making notes on it. She would need this for when she was a teacher until the Enterprise was ready. According to the reports, she would teach for at least a semester before the ship was fully operational and space ready.

Ari sat quietly while Spock finished the introduction. He was so precise in his timing that just as he finished, the class was over. The students hurried out while Aila moved more languidly, taking her time as she strolled out. As she passed Spock, she said to him, "I'll see you at the other class."

This precious time between classes, Ari spent sitting outside in the sun reading over more carefully the course guidelines of both courses with which she was to help. Quite honestly, they were far from challenging. She would have little trouble helping and answering questions.

After an hour, Ari left her sun-drenched spot in the grass for the physical education building of Starfleet, ready to give the students of the next class a lesson in agility.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Ari walked into one of the gyms in the Physical Education Building. No one was there yet. After all, she was early. With this opportunity, Ari looked around the silent gym.

In the centre of the gym, there was a large, open area with mats laid out on the floor. The sides had various strength training machines as well as a small track and dummies. There were even a few gymnastics devices mixed in. This gym really was quite well-furnished.

Ari checked the clock on the wall. Fifteen minutes. She decided to practice her tumbling on the mats for awhile. She walked to the edge before running out headlong into an astonishing tumbling run worthy of a gymnast. After all, this was one area which her people were made for with their small, agile bodies.

She went through a few more runs before she decided to do something else. She walked over to the side and quickly stretched out her splits. They hadn't challenged her for years.

While she sat in her middle splits, she heard a group of students walk in. She heard gasps when they saw her. Undoubtedly, they continued to watch as she turned into one of her side splits without getting up. She heard still more gasps as she lifted up her back calf and touched her foot to the back of her head.

Soon after, Ari picked herself up from the ground and turned to see who had entered. About ten students were standing near the door watching her. Near them, Spock stood, watching her as well. He seemed to be watching more objectively, as would be expected from a Vulcan.

Ari walked over to Spock and asked, "Is this the whole class?"

"Yes," he said simply.

"Then we had best begin," she said.

With that, Spock stepped forward and said his whole spiel again, though it was much shorter this time. After that introduction, he said that at all costs, they must avoid under-estimating their enemy. An example came next.

He pointed at an Asian student and asked, "What is your name, Cadet?"

"Hikaru Sulu, Sir," the Cadet answered.

"Do you believe that you could win against me in a fight?" he asked.

"No," Cadet Sulu answered quickly.

"Do you believe that you could win in a fight against Lieutenant Tresina?" Spock asked.

"Yes," the Cadet said confidently. Ari's eyebrow shot up at his tone.

"Please demonstrate," Spock said, gesturing to the large open space on the mats.

The Asian Cadet stepped forward, as did Ari. While the Cadet crouched into a distinctly Japanese offensive position, Ari simply stood straight, watching him. After several seconds, Cadet Sulu ran forward at her, attempting to throw her on her back. Ari stepped to the side before jumping up to kick him in the back. That sent the overconfident cadet to the mats face first. He groaned and rolled over to his back.

The rest of the class began to clap while Ari bent down to help Cadet Sulu get up. As soon as he was standing, Spock said to the class, "That is the result of underestimating your enemy. Remember: smaller opponents tend to be faster and more agile, while larger opponents tend to rely more on brute strength. Pair up with someone who is not the same size as you. You will take turns fighting before we tell you your errors."

And it was so.

oooooooooooo

When the class was over, Ari hurried out without talking and went straight to the place Leonard, Cadet McCoy that is, had said. She sat there and waited for fifteen minutes before said person arrived, towing along another cadet.

"Who's this, Leonard?" she asked, seeing a man almost the same height as her friend. He had blond hair and blue eyes, which was apparently normal for a human.

"I'm Cadet James T. Kirk. And you are?" the cadet said charmingly, shaking her hand.

"I am Lieutenant Anari Tresina," she returned, sending the doctor a questioning look.

"Alright, Jim, enough mooning over my friend. We still need to eat," Leonard said, moving between the two before leading the way to the mess hall.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

"So what's your next class, Bones?" Kirk asked. Their group of three sat in the busy mess hall with their now empty trays in front of them.

"Psychology," the doctor answered. It was obvious from his tone that he in no way looked forward to that class.

"Why are you taking it, then?" Kirk asked.

"It's required for any medical focus," Ari said simply before turning to the other and asking, "Which teacher do you have?"

"Lapinsky," Bones grumbled.

Kirk whistled while Ari tried quite hard not to laugh. "Good luck with that," she said after a second.

"Well, what's your class, then?" Bones asked.

"Bioethics," Ari said, smiling.

Bones only snorted. Kirk glanced at his friend before saying to her," That's really interesting. What's your focus?"

"Psychology and zenolinguistics," she said briefly before looking at the other man. "Leonard, I know you hate Lapinsky, but you have to eat something."

"It's not just Lapinsky, it's the whole topic," Bones grumbled.

"So you don't like getting into other people's heads? I thought that was good for a doctor?" Kirk said.

"Actually, it's merely useful. It isn't necessary, especially with Leonard. He enjoys hyposprays so much that he can just threaten his patients with that," Ari said.

"Well, not everyone can talk their patients into submission," Bones said sarcastically to her.

"That is a fact of which I am proud," she said.

"You're from Lorenti, right? _That's_ where you learned your Grammar?" Kirk asked.

"Yes. That is where I learned not to put a preposition at the end of a sentence," Ari said. She turned again and said, "Leonard, I meant what I said. You must eat."

"Fine," the doctor grumbled, pushing some food into his mouth.

"Just in time to go to class," Ari remarked, standing and picking up her PADD and her tray.

"Hurry up, Bonesy. We wouldn't want to keep the lady waiting," Kirk said, standing and collecting his things.

The two walked over and set their trays on the conveyer belt before walking to the door. As they did, Kirk said to her, "By the way, call me Jim."

"All right," she said. She then turned back, looking for Leonard.

"He'll catch up," Jim said, taking her arm and pulling her out the door.

He didn't.

Jim walked Ari to class, and the whole way, she barely listened to him.

oooooooooooo

Over the next six months, Ari, Jim, and Bones grew close. They were almost the Three Musketeers, except that Ari was Jim's conscience, and Jim always hit on Ari. Despite that, the three of them seemed as close as siblings.

The classes that Ari helped to teach, soon got to be relaxing. She could quite easily step in for Spock when needed, and she hadn't yet had any trouble answering the students' questions.

The Advanced Hand-To-Hand class was somewhat more interesting for her. Each time, one of the students came to class completely confident that they could beat her in a fight. As of yet, they had all left considerably humbled.

However, the very student that she had beaten first, Hikaru Sulu, had just come to class with the brilliant idea of having Spock and Ari fight against each other.

That suggestion had led to her current position: sprawled on her stomach with her arms under her body and her legs and torso pinned down by that very same half-Vulcan. Yes, he had won.

Had the request been bourn out of sureness that Ari would win, they were sadly disappointed as she had been quite sure that she was no match for the Vulcan reputation of speed and strength. Thus, she held but one regret as to the outcome of the fight: later today, she would be officially graduating as a Lt. Commander rather than merely Lieutenant.

With that knowledge, Ari went back to her quarters after having lunch with Jim and Leonard. She had finished all of the classes that were required of her to graduate, as she had already taken the Lorentian equivalent of all of the other classes required of her. That was the reason for her exceedingly early graduation.

Sure enough, she went through the ceremony and was promoted by Captain Pike himself. None of that interested her so much as what happened after the ceremony.

Jim and Leonard searched her out as soon as it was concluded. Jim threw his arm over her shoulders and said, "Congratulations, Ari."

"Jim!" she exclaimed, hugging him.

"Easy there. We wouldn't want you to wreck your new uniform," he said jokingly.

"Congratulations, Ari. Your higher ranking than us, now," Leonard said, walking up to them.

"Leonard!" she nearly squealed, hugging him as well.

"Hey! Stop trying to steal my girl," Jim said, still joking.

Ari laughed and said, "You know perfectly well that you're like my brother, Jim!"

"Tresina!" an expressionless voice called. Quickly, all three of them turned to see Spock coming toward them, though neither Bones nor Jim knew who he was.

"Yes, Commander?" she asked.

"Now that you've graduated, I have a proposition for you," he said, business-like as always.

"All right, let's hear it," she said.

"I'm sure you remember that I program the Kobiyashu Maru Test. As you have knowledge of the human nature and their emotions, I'd like you to help me program the test to take those factors into account," he said. Of course, he would explain this concisely where a human would rattle on.

"That sounds good. Tell me when you'd like to meet," she said simply before turning to leave.

She began to walk back toward Jim and Leonard, but a middle-aged man intercepted her: Captain Pike. "Tresina. Congratulations," he said, smiling at her.

"Thank you, Captain," she said, smiling in return.

"You know, you were going to graduate as a Lieutenant," he said mysteriously.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"At the recommendation of myself and Commander Spock, you were promoted," he said, smiling.

She stared at him in shock for a second before she smiled hugely and said honestly, "Thank you, Sir."

"Now get back to your friends. They look a bit put out that you aren't with them," he said. A mischievous glint was in his eyes.

Ari laughed and said jokingly, "Yes, Sir.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Another six months went by, hardly dissimilar to the last. The only differences for Ari were that she no longer took classes. However, she continued to help Spock teach the two classes, although in the Vulcan class they had taken to alternate days teaching.

During this time, Ari made another friend, Nyota Uhura. The alien had redirected Jim's flirting from her to another woman at the bar. From then on, she had been Nyota's go-to person for venting and complaining about Jim.

With her lack of classes, Ari helped Spock with the Kobiyashi Maru, correcting many of his logic based assumptions about the human nature. Part of why the test had been so hard was that you could only succeed by being extremely creative and completely logical. If you were not, there was no way you could succeed. Now, it was actually harder to win because the computer went by what most humans would do and counteracted it. She felt bad for whoever took it. She only found out then that Jim was going to take it for the third time.

Perhaps the most profound difference for Ari over the past six months was the outbreak of war in her home system. Without warning, the Klingons had attacked the Lorentian outposts throughout the system, destroying most. The main fleet was currently engaged there against the Klingons. Victory was expected soon.

Lately, Ari had been helping Leonard study. He was going to take his medical exams to graduate, and he was nervous. Only today had she been able to just sit and draw without him bugging her. She took off her uniform and didn't even bother to put more clothes on. She just allowed the cold to seep into her skin.

She had been drawing for a few minutes when she door beeped. "Come in," she said, not even bothering to get up.

"I can't believe that guy!" Uhura exclaimed, walking in.

"Who is it now?" she asked, putting down her paper.

"Kirk! He almost slept with Gaila after she promised me she wouldn't bring anymore guys back!" she exclaimed angrily.

"What?" she exclaimed.

"Wait, you know him?" she asked.

"Yes. In fact, I'm going to go have a talk with him about this. Do you want to come?" she asked, jumping up and pulling on her uniform.

"There is no way I'm going to see him voluntarily," she said.

"Alright. I'll just talk some sense into him on my own," Ari said. "Bye, Nyota," she said, leaving the other woman standing outside the door.

Ari went straight to Jim's room. She put in the code (Jim had given it to her several months ago) and walked in. "Jim!" she snapped.

"What?" he asked, standing from his desk. He was alarmed.

"What have I told you about sleeping with people? I thought you were going to stop!" she said angrily. She would not yell, not in the dorms at least.

"You know me, Ari. I can't resist a good pair of legs," Jim said, smiling charmingly.

Ari advanced menacingly on him and said threateningly, "Next time I hear about something like this, I will recommend you for demotion."

"Easy, Ari. It won't happen again," he said placatingly.

"You had better mean it, or it's your head on the chopping block," she said before turning on her heel and leaving.

oooooooooooo

As promised, Ari was waiting outside the building when Jim and Leonard hurried out. "How did it go?" she asked immediately.

"He did something to change the test," Leonard said bluntly.

"What?" Ari exclaimed immediately.

"He cheated," he said.

"No. The test is a cheat. I just did the same thing in return," Jim said.

"This has got to be the stupidest thing you've done yet, Jim! Spock will bring this to the Academy Board! They'll suspend you!" Ari exclaimed.

"Don't worry about it," Jim said, gesturing dismissively.

"How can I not? The Enterprise is almost ready. Leonard'll be on it when it launches. I'll be on it, too. I've known that from the beginning. If you're suspended, you _will not_ be on that ship. There isn't much chance that they'll let you on it if you're suspended during your career," Ari said.

"Bones, you'll be on the Enterprise?" Jim asked, turning to the doctor.

"Yes, Jim. I thought you knew that already. I'm medical crew for it," Bones said.

"Well that's just great," Jim said sarcastically.

Ari wouldn't dare tell Jim that a Vulcan was programming the test and would not take kindly to cheating. She waited until later to tell just Leonard that rather important fact.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

A week later, the Academy Board met, as the Chairman said, "To resolve a trouble matter." His next words froze Jim's blood. "James T. Kirk, step forward." Ari was right, as usual. His only comfort in that was that when it came to engineering, she was barely average.

As said person came to the stand, the Chairman said, "Cadet Kirk, evidence has been submitted to this Council suggesting that you violated the Ethical Code of Conduct pursuant to Regulation 17.43 of the Star Fleet Code. Is there anything you'd care to say before we begin, Sir?"

After a second of thought, Jim said, "Yes. I believe I have the right to face my accuser directly." Spock rose and adjusted his uniform.

"Step forward, please," the Chairman said. As asked, Spock came down to the second stand. "This is Commander Spock. He is one of our most distinguished graduates. He's programmed the Kobiyashi Maru Exam for the last four years. Commander."

Spock began to speak, explaining what they both already knew. "Cadet Kirk, you somehow managed to install and activate a sub-routine in the code, thereby changing the conditions of the test."

"Your point being?" Jim asked.

"In academic vernacular, Cadet, you cheated," the Chairman said simply.

"Let me ask you something, I think we all know the answer to. The test itself is a cheat. Isn't it? You programmed it to be unwinnable," Jim said. Oh, how close to the truth he was.

"Your argument concludes the possibility of a no-win scenario," Spock pointed out, logical, as always.

"I don't believe in no-win scenarios," Jim replied just as surely.

"Then, not only did you violate the rules, you also failed to understand the principle lesson," Spock said.

"Please, enlighten me," Jim said. He was slightly exasperated by Spock's logical. That much was clear.

"You of all people should know, Cadet Kirk, a captain cannot cheat death," Spock said.

"I of all people?" Jim asked, picking up on the somewhat less than subtle hint.

"Your father, Lieutenant George Kirk, assumed command of his vessel before being killed in action. Did he not?" Spock said, listing out one thing he should never have touched upon. Already, Ari could feel the pain that Jim was trying to hide.

"I don't think you like the fact that I beat your test," Jim said, trying to draw away from the circumstances of his birth.

"Furthermore, you have failed to divine the purpose of the test," Spock said. Internally, Ari snorted. The purpose of the test had changed six months ago when she started to help Spock. He had thought the purpose was to demonstrate a number of qualities he thought necessary for a captain to have. She had quickly corrected him to a more quantifiable purpose.

"Enlighten me again," Jim said.

"The purpose is to experience fear, fear in the face of certain death, to accept that fear and maintain control of oneself and one's crew. This is a quality expected in every Star Fleet captain," Spock said, quoting her almost exactly. _Well done, Spock. Quote the empath on all matters emotional._

"Excuse me, Sir," a messenger said, bringing a PADD to the Chairman.

After quickly reading its contents, he announced, "We've received a distress call from Vulcan. With our primary fleet engaged in the Lorentian System, I hereby order all cadets to report to Hangar 1 immediately. Dismissed."

Ari walked quickly out to the hangar along with the swarm of cadets. However, she did not go to a group to wait for her assignment. After all, she already knew she was assigned to the Enterprise. Knowing this, she walked straight toward the shuttle that would take her to the Enterprise.

Along the way, she saw Leonard half carrying Jim toward the same ship. She slowed down to match pace with them and asked, "What are you doing, Jim?"

"I don' really know," he said, sounding drunk.

"Leonard, what's wrong with him?" she asked, looking up to the Doctor.

"I gave him the symptoms of the Nivoran mud fleas infection," he said.

"Medical code. He wants to get on the Enterprise, doesn't he?" Ari said, immediately recognizing their plan.

McCoy just cocked an eyebrow for a second. He obviously wasn't entirely on board about the plan. "Good luck," she said, speeding up her pace to hurry over to the shuttle.

"How does she know these things?" Jim asked despite his current disability.

"She's part of Medical, Jim," he said, continuing to drag his friend along.

Soon enough, the two men climbed on board the shuttle. Almost as soon as they were inside, they saw Ari sitting patiently in an aisle seat. Two seats were open in front of her. She had been facing them and noticed immediately when they arrived.

She smiled at them and said, "You made it." Then, she noticed that Jim was worse. He seemed nauseous by the way he was keeping his mouth tightly closed. "Sit him down quickly," she said.

As soon as the shuttle doors were open, Ari stood up and said, "Good luck," to the two men. She then hurried out and into the ship.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

As soon as Pike saw that Ari was on the bridge, changed into her blue shirt and skirt that denoted her ship's uniform, he said, "Tresina."

"Medical reports ready to launch, Sir," she said, walking over to her chair. She had a small consol in front of her for ship-wide alerts, but other than that she just sat in the chair most of the time.

Minutes later, Spock came on the bridge. She smiled at him as he saw her. He nodded to her as he walked past her to his consol.

When Spock was finished with his report, Pike said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the maiden voyage of our newest flagship deserves more pomp and circumstance than we can afford today. Christening will just have to be our reward for a safe return. Carry on."

He then sat and activated the ship wide speakers. "All decks, this is Captain Pike. Prepare for immediate departure." He then turned off the speaker and said, "Helm, thrusters."

"Moorings retracted, Captain. Dock control reports ready," Sulu said from the helm. "Thrusters fired. Separating from space dock."

Seconds later, Sulu said, "The fleet has cleared space dock, Captain. All ships ready for warp."

"Set course for Vulcan," Pike said.

"Aye, aye, Captain," he said before turning to face the captain. "Course laid in."

"Maximum warp. Punch it," Pike said. Ari had to smile at that.

All of the ships around the Enterprise all jumped to warp, but the Enterprise stayed put. At this, everyone on the bridge turned to look at either the Captain or the Helmsman.

"Lieutenant, where's Helmsman McKenna," Pike said.

"He has lungworms, Sir. He couldn't report to his post. I'm Hikaru Sulu," Sulu said, turning to face the Captain.

"And you are a pilot, right?" Pike asked.

"Very much so, Sir," Sulu answered. Ari could sense his nervousness, as well as Pike's mild irritation. "I'm not sure what's wrong."

"Is the parking brake on," Pike said humorously.

"No," Sulu said, smiling at the joke.

"I'll figure it out," Sulu said.

"Have you disengaged the external inertial dampeners?" Spock asked.

Sulu tapped the screen once. The consol beeped differently that time. Sulu sat back in his chair and said, "Ready for warp, Sir."

"Let's punch it," Pike said again.

This time, they went to warp.

A bit later, they were at maximum warp. When they were, Pike turned to her and said, "Tresina, begin ship wide mission broadcast."

"Yes, sir," she said, turning to her consol. She activated the control for that before saying, "May I have your attention please. At 22 hundred hours, telemetry detected an anomaly in the neutral zone. It appeared to be a lightning storm in space. Soon after, Starfleet received distress signal from the Vulcan High Command that their planet was experiencing seismic activity. Our mission is to assess the condition of Vulcan and assist in evacuations if necessary. We should be arriving at Vulcan within three minutes. Thank you for your time."

The second the broadcast was off, Pike asked, "By the way, Russian wiz-kid, what's your name?"

"Ensign Chekov, Pavel Andrevich," the Russian kid said with a very apparent accent.

oooooooooooo

They had been en route for some time when the bridge doors suddenly opened and Jim ran in. Ari immediately sensed his urgency and turned to see him running into the bridge. His hands were swollen, most likely due to an allergic reaction. Leonard and Nyota were running after him, trying to stop him and bring him away from the bridge. Ari stood immediately to see what was going on.

"Sir, we have to stop the ship!" Jim said seriously.

"Kirk, how the hell did you get on board the Enterprise?" Pike asked, standing up.

"Captain, this man's under the influence of a-" Leonard began to say.

Jim began to talk at the same time as him. "Bones, Bones."

"Severe reaction to a vaccine. He's completely delusional. I'll take full responsibility.

"Look, Vulcan is not experiencing a natural disaster. It's being attacked by Romulans," Jim said as Leonard stopped talking. Ari eyebrows rose in response to this. She could feel that he was not in the least confused. He wasn't hallucinating.

"Romulans? Cadet Kirk, I think you've had enough attention for one day. McCoy, take him back to Medical. We'll have words later," Pike said. He was annoyed.

Leonard took Jim's arm to try to steer him away from the bridge. Quickly, Ari stepped forward and said, "Sir, he's not lying."

Pike turned to look at her, his expression saying _are you sure?_ She merely nodded.

In that time, Jim stepped up onto the dais and said, "That same anomaly occurred-"

Spock interrupted him by walking over and saying, "Mr. Kirk is not cleared to be aboard this vessel."

"Look, I get it," Jim said. He began to speak at the same time as Spock. He seemed to be making a habit of this.

"I cited regulations that can have you removed-"

"Try it!" Jim exclaimed. That got Spock to stop talking. "This Cadet is trying to save the bridge."

"By recommending a full stop mid-warp during a rescue mission?" Spock asked.

"It's not a rescue mission. Listen to me. It's an attack," Jim said, looking back to Pike.

"Based on what facts?" Spock asked. That was a very good point. Ari could even sense that Spock was mildly annoyed with Jim, though he hid it very well.

"That same anomaly, a lightning storm in space that we saw today, also occurred on the day of my birth before a Romulan ship attacked the USS Kelvin. You know that, Sir. I read your dissertation. That ship, which had formidable and advanced weaponry, was never seen or heard from again. The Kelvin attack took place on the edge of Klingon space. At 23 hundred hours last night. There was an attack. 47 Klingon war birds, destroyed by Romulans, sir, but it was reported that the Romlans were in one ship, one massive ship."

"And you know of this Klingon attack how?" Pike asked.

Jim just looked back at Nyota. Both Pike and Spock joined him in that look. Under their gazes, Nyota said, "Sir, I intercepted and translated the message myself. Kirk's report is accurate."

"We're warping into a trap, sir. The Romulans are waiting for us. I promise you that," Jim said.

"The Cadet's logic is sound, and as Lieutenant Uhura is unmatched in xenolinguistics, we would be wise to accept her conclusion," Spock said.

"Scan Vulcan space. Check for any transmissions in Romulan," Pike ordered.

"Sir, I'm not sure I can distinguish the Romulan language from Vulcan," the Lieutenant said that was supposed to do this.

Pike took a few steps toward Nyota and asked her, "What about you, Cadet? Can you speak Romulan?"

"Uhura. All three dialects, Sir," she said.

"Uhura, relieve the Lieutenant," Pike ordered. And it was so.

"Hanity, hail the USS Truman," Pike ordered.

"All other ships are out of ship, Sir, and have arrived at Vulcan, but we seem to have lost all contact," Hanity said.

A second later, Nyota said, "Sir, I pick up no Romulan transmissions in the area, or transmissions of any kind."

"It's because they're under attack," Jim said. She could still sense his confidence and urgency.

Pike was silent as he walked over and sat in his chair. Then, he said, "Shields up. Red alert."

As the red alert tone began to sound, Sulu said over that cacophony, "Arrival of Vulcan in five seconds. Four. Three Two."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

The Enterprise dropped out of warp then to see burning chunks of Starfleet ships floating in space all around them. "Emergency evasive!" Pike said immediately.

Ari held onto her consol tightly as people began to say many different things at the same time. Suddenly, they were hit by a large chunk. The ship shook, and Ari nearly fell out of her chair.

They continued to fly through the chunks of ships until they saw a particularly large piece directly in front of them. The attempted to go underneath it, but it scraped against the back of the ship.

Now that they could see in front of them again, they saw a massive ship. There were no words to describe its tangled form.

"Captain, they're locking torpedoes," Spock said, breaking Ari from her examination.

Pike continued to give orders while Ari just held on tightly and watched. She was almost in a daze until she heard Spock say, "Captain, the Romulans have lowered some type of high energy pulse device into the atmosphere. It's signal appears to be blocking our communication abilities."

"Full power to forward shields. Prepare to fire all weapons," Pike said.

Ari waited. The Romulans should have fired by now. Quite suddenly, a whizzing light surrounded her. She immediately recognized it as a transporter. Before she could react, she was gone.

Two other people had been beamed off at the exact same time. As soon as they were gone, Spock said, "The signal is now blocking our transporter abilities as well."

"Spock, what the hell just happened?" Pike demanded.

"It appears that three members of the bridge crew have been simultaneously beamed aboard the enemy ship."

"Captain, we're being hailed," Uhura said.

"Hello," the Captain of the other ship said in a dark, rough voice. The screen was filled by a very angry looking Romulan with tattoos on his face.

"I am Captain Christopher Pike. To whom am I speak?" the Captain said calmly, or as calmly as could be expected.

"Hi Christopher. I'm Nero," the Romulan said in a seemingly friendly voice.

"You've declared war against the Federation. Withdraw. I'll agree to set up a conference with Romulan leadership at a neutral location," Pike said. His voice was, as always, authoritative.

"I do not speak for the Empire. We stand apart. As does your Vulcan crew member. Isn't that right, Spock?"

"Pardon me, I do not believe you and I are acquainted," Spock said, standing and stepping forward.

"No. We're not. Not yet," he said vaguely.

Seconds later, Nero continued to speak. "Spock, there's something I would like you to see. Captain Pike, your transporters have been disabled and I hold three of your crew members hostage. As you can see by the rest of your Armada, you have no choice. You will man a shuttle, and come aboard the _Narada_ for negotiations."

"What about my crew members?" Pike asked before Nero could cut the feed.

"I will release all but the highest ranking officer," Nero said. A second later, two Starfleet cadets were beamed aboard the bridge. Ari was the only one left on that ship. By the time anyone looked back to the screen, the feed had already been cut.

"He'll kill you," Kirk said immediately.

"Your survival is unlikely," Spock added emotionlessly, as always.

"Captain, we gain nothing by diplomacy. Going over to that ship is a mistake," Kirk said.

"I, too, agree you should rethink your strategy," Spock said, agreeing.

"I understand that, but he still holds a Starfleet officer hostage, and I cannot abide that. I need officer's who've been trained in advanced hand to hand combat," Pike said.

"I have training, Sir," Sulu said, raising his hand.

"Come with me," he said. "Kirk, you, too. You're not supposed to be here anyway. Chekov, you have the Conn," Pike said.

ooooooooooo

Ari sat on the floor on the bridge of the _Narada_. A guard was standing beside her, waiting and watching for something. She had no idea how long she had been here for. She only knew that the two other Starfleet personnel that had been here were beamed away awhile ago.

Finally, a Romulan in all black clothes and a tattooed face walked over to her. He waved away the guard before saying to her, still standing, "What are the codes for the planetary defence systems of Earth?"

"How should I know? I'm not the captain," she said immediately, laughing slightly in spite of herself.

"Hmm. What do you know of Spock?" he asked. So far, he was calm and focused.

Ari frowned in confusion. She looked up at him and asked, "What do you mean?"

His eyes hardened and he demanded sharply, "Where is he?" _Oh, no. He's annoyed._

"On the Enterprise," she said immediately.

"Have you ever met him?" he asked, squatting down so that they were closer to face to face. She was, after all, much smaller than him.

"I better have. I helped him program the Kobiyashi Maru," she said, smiling. That smile was short-lived because she released where she was. Instantly, the smile was gone. In its place was a stony exterior.

Nero seemed to be amused by this, though he did not voice it. Ari did that for him. "You're amused," she said.

"And how would you know that, hmm?" he asked, beginning to glare at her.

"I'm an empath," she said bluntly.

"What planet are you from?" he asked, obviously both curious and puzzled.

"Lorenti," she said.

"The ice planet?" he asked.

"Why does everyone say that?" she asked, shaking her head.

"Everyone knows that's where Lorentian silk and Ferilat venom come from," he said, shrugging. He seemed to have entirely forgotten about the matter at hand. Ari had no problems with that. It meant he wasn't killing her or destroying the Enterprise.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Spock, Kirk, and Sulu followed Captain Pike off the bridge and through the ship to the hangar bay. Along the way, Pike said, "Without transporters, we can't beam off the ship. We can't assist Vulcan. We can't do our job. Mr. Kirk, Mr. Sulu, Engineer Olsen will space jump from the shuttle. You will land on that machine they've lowered into the atmosphere that's scrambling our gear. You'll get inside. You'll disable it. Then, you'll beam back to the ship. Also, beam up Tresina from that ship. Mr. Spock, I'm leaving you in command of the Enterprise. Once we have transport and communication abilities, you'll contact Starfleet and tell them what the hell's going on here, and if all else fails, fall back. Rendezvous with the fleet in the Lorentian system. Kirk, I'm promoting you to first officer."

"What?" he asked.

"Captain? Please, I apologize. The complexity of human pranks escapes me," Spock said.

"It's not a prank, Spock. And I'm not the Captain. You are," Pike said seriously. "Let's go," he said. Sulu, Kirk, and Olsen followed him to the elevator.

Inside, Kirk asked, "Sir, after we knock out that drill, what happens to you?"

"Well, guess you'll just have to come and get me," Pike said. He then said to Spock, "Careful with the ship, Spock. She's brand new."

ooooooooooo

Spock quickly walked back to the bridge. As soon as he was there, he contacted medical for a report. A different voice than he had expected responded by saying, "It's McCoy. Dr. Purry was on Deck Six. He's dead."

"Then you have just inherited his responsibility as Chief Medical Officer," Spock said factually.

"Yeah. Tell me something I don't know," McCoy retorted sardonically.

"Two cadets should be arriving at medical soon. They were beamed aboard the ship before being negotiated into release," Spock rattled off right away. After all, the CMO needed to know things like that.

"Anyone still on board that thing?" McCoy asked, no longer snappy. His voice was filled with genuine concern.

"Dr. Tresina," Spock responded.

Down in medical, McCoy's muscles locked. His mind literally went blank for a second before kicking into an over-drive fuelled by speculations. It was _his_ Ari that was on that ship!

"What about Pike?" McCoy asked after a few more seconds. His voice sounded half-strangled, like he was forcing himself to speak at all.

"Captain Pike is on the ship, negotiating," Spock said before returning his attention to the bridge.

Back in medical, McCoy remained rooted to the spot before one of the nurses shook his shoulder and said urgently, "Doctor!"

Following that, McCoy continued to work, but his movements were almost automated. He would not be able to truly focus until _his_ Ari was back on the Enterprise.

ooooooooooo

Three men quickly strapped themselves in to the seats of a shuttle. Even as they did, the door closed and the ship took off, so pressed where they for time. As soon as they were situated, the middle man asked the Asian, "So what kind of combat training do you have?"

Sulu turned to him and said, "Fencing." Kirk, in return, stared at the man, unsure what to make of that particular skill.

"Pre-jump," Pike said from the cockpit. In response, the three men placed air-tight helmets over their heads. Now, they were ready to space jump.

Seconds later, the airlock doors closed, separating the cargo hold from the cockpit. Not much later, Pike's voice over the comm. Said, "Gentlemen, we're approaching the drop zone. You have one shot to land on that platform. It may have defences, so pull your 'chute as late as possible."

As he spoke, the three men stood and walked to the other airlock door, the one from which they would be exiting. There, each of them grabbed a handle above their heads. Almost as soon as they were ready, Pike's voice counted down over the comm. When he reached one, he disabled the artificial gravity in the hold, sending them straight up against the wall. "Remember: the _Enterprise_ won't be able to beam you back, so you have to turn off that drill," Pike continued to say.

He had only two more words to say. Even as he uttered them, he pulled a handle which jettisoned them out into space, straight toward the planet. "Good luck."

oooooooooooo

Minutes ago, the Romulan had left, presumably to oversee other, more important matters than simply a Star Fleet hostage, even if she was an officer and non-human. They did have far more than enough guards to prevent any type of escape on Ari's part, especially since her only choice at that time would have been to make it to the docking bay to take one of their shuttles. With that one and only escape route ruled out as relatively unfeasible that she could succeed, Ari stayed put where they had left her.

Ari should have felt cut off from the _Enterprise_. She should have been nervous because she had no idea what was happening. However, one of the great advantages to being an empath was her ability to vaguely locate people based upon where she was sensing emotions. Because they were in a crisis, tensions were, as expected, running high on the _Enterprise_. Because of that, she could sense its location relative to her location. She did not waste her time concentrating on the mass of frantic emotions on the ship. Instead, she mentally reached out into the airspace of the planet.

A single person's emotions, all of which were worried but controlled, were heading toward the ship. Most likely, it was one of the officers come to bargain with the Romulans for the safety of Vulcan and, one would hope, her safety.

Additionally, there were three people moving very rapidly through space toward the planet. All of them were in the middle of an adrenaline rush, but two of them had controlled that excitement and remained calm. The final person had taken the enticing bait. His emotions were controlling him, stopping him from thinking. Ari knew at that, if they were in a ship, all three would live. But, if they had done what seemed logical and space jumped, the one that was not controlling his emotions would die.

You may well ask how it seems more logical, but I assure you, it is completely logical. The Romulans would notice a shuttle heading toward or away from the planet. They would likely shoot it down. Because there were three people, moving at high speed away from where the shuttle _had_ been, she easily deduced that they had space jumped.

Other than those generalized facts, she could not tell who these space jumping people were, or who had been chosen to play the diplomat in the drama of negotiations. Were she closer, it would be far easier to sense more than just a vague impression of what they were feeling. That increased proximity could have served as the data from which she extrapolated and for all intents and purposes made an inference about who each bundle of emotions was.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

"Sir, we have transporters!" one of the engineers in the transporter room said quickly.

"Captain, grawitational sensors are off ze scale. If my calculations are correct, ze're creating a singularity...zat will consume ze planet," Chekov said right after that announcement.

The gravity of the situation had just revealed itself. Spock stayed silent as he the thought processed in his mind. A second later, he asked, "They are creating a black hole at the centre of Vulcan?"

Chekov nodded. "Yes, sir."

"How long does the planet have?" he asked, outwardly as calm as ever.

Chekov thought for a second before he shook his head and shrugged. "Meenutes, Sir. Meenutes."

Instantly, Spock was on his feet and striding off the bridge. "Alert Vulcan Command Centre. Tell them to call a planet-wide evacuation, all channels, all frequencies."

"Spock, wait!" Uhura said, jogging after him.

"Maintain standard orbit. Beam up Lt. Comm. Tresina."

"Where are _you_ going?" she asked as he entered the lift.

"To evacuate the Vulcan High Council. They are tasked with protecting our cultural history. My parents will be among them."

"Can't you beam them up?" she asked.

"It is impossible. They will be in the Katrac Arc. I must get them myself. Chekov, you have the conn."

"Aye," the Russian said, turning back to his console. Quickly, he contacted the transporter room and said, "Beam Lt. Comm. Tresina aboard."

Seconds later, the response came. "I can't lock onto her."

"_From bad to worse_," Chekov muttered in Russian.

"Kirk to _Enterprise_. Get us outta here!"

"Stand by. Locking on to your signal."

A second later, the whole device began to move. The centre part separated roughly from the part on which Kirk and Sulu were standing. Both of them were jerked off their feet. Kirk caught himself and looked up just in time to see Sulu falling over the edge, down toward the planet's surface.

"Stay still. I can't lock onto you. Don't move. Don't move!"

"Kirk!"

"Sulu!" Kirk ran to the edge and jumped off after him. Quickly, he pulled his arms and legs into his body to minimize wind resistance. Consequently, he went faster than Sulu and was able to catch up. As soon as he could, Kirk grabbed onto Sulu and yelled, "Pull my chute!"

The chute opened as it was supposed to and inflated quickly. However, the cables it was attached to snapped, sending the two plummeting toward the planet at an increasing speed.

"Kirk to _Enterprise_! We're falling without a chute! Beam us up!"

"I'm trying. I can't lock onto your signal. You're moving too fast."

"I can do zat. I can do zat!" Chekov realized. He yelled out randomly to someone, "Take ze conn!" After that, he was off at a sprint toward the transporter room.

The two men continued to plummet toward the planet's surface, unaware that their lives depended on a Russian teenager sprinting through the halls of the _Enterprise._

"Beam us up!" Kirk said emphatically as Chekov made it to the transporter room. _"Enterprise,_ where are you?" he yelled.

"Hold on! Hold on!" Chekov was getting closer and closer to locking onto them.

"Now! Now! NOW! Do it NOW!" Kirk yelled. "Now! Now! Now! Now!"

"Hold on! Calculating gravitational pull...And..."

"Gotcha!" The next second, Kirk and Sulu were beamed onto the _Enterprise_, and not a moment too late. They had narrowly avoided being sprays of bodily fluids and organs on the soon to be destroyed rocks of Vulcan. "_Ja Majo!"_ Chekov said happily.

Kirk and Sulu groaned as they slowly picked themselves up from the platform.

"Thanks," Sulu said.

"No problem," Kirk said tiredly.

Just then, Spock stepped onto the platform. "Clear the pad. I am beaming to the surface."

"The surface of what?" Kirk asked as he and Sulu got up. "What? You're going down there? Are you nuts? Spock, you can't do that! Spock!"

"Energize," Spock said calmly. And he was gone.

Kirk shook his head before turning to Chekov and asking, "Did you beam up Ar- Tresina?"

Chekov looked down sadly. A second later, he looked up and shook his head. "We couldn't get a lock," the engineer behind him said.

And they waited.

Barely two minutes later, they were contacted. "Spock to _Enterprise_. Get us out now." He sounded urgent, and that urgency could almost be considered an emotion.

"Locking wolume. Don't move. Stay right where you are," Chekov said, beginning to work at the screen again.

"Transport in five, four, three, two...I'm losing her! I'm losing her! I'm losing her! I'm losing her!...I lost her."

The Vulcans beamed onto the ship, but they all looked at the one which they knew: Spock. His hand was stretched out as if to grasp someone. His eyes were locked on a now non-existent point in the distance. She was gone.

The room was silent. None of them had failed to grasp what had just happened. And one person outside the room could certainly sense the overwhelming sense of loss, sorrow, and gaping solemnity in that part of the ship. It stuck out like a pit of blackness amongst of field of already unpleasant rocks.

A minute later, the planet was gone, sucked into a gaping vortex that no one could see. The _Enterprise_ left just in time to avoid becoming a part of that ill-fated mass. The Romulan ship was no where to be found.


	12. Chapter 12

_Thank you for the reviews!_

**Chapter Twelve**

Jim and Sulu walked solemnly into the frenzied mass of people that was Medical. The place was quite frankly havoc, which held its origin in treating not only the Starfleet personnel but Vulcans as well. Despite the apparently overwhelmed state of the staff, Bones walked up to them almost immediately, tricorder in hand, to treat them. He quickly swept the two over before telling them to wait. After all, there were worse injuries than theirs which required his attention.

Jim let him go. He couldn't tell Bones when there was so much work to be done. He would wait until Bones had more time, but he had to know. He had been far too emotionally close to Ari for anything less than full knowledge of what had happened.

Both men waited, occupied entirely by depressing lines and focuses of thought which were completely unique to each of them.

oooooooooo

"_Acting Captain's Log Stardate 2258.42. We have had no word from either Captain Pike or Lieutenant Commander Tresina. I have therefore classified them hostages of the war criminal known as Nero. Nero, who has destroyed my homeplanet along with most of its six billion inhabitants. While the essence of our culture has been saved in the elders who now reside upon this ship, I estimate no more than ten thousand have survived. I am now a member of an endangered species."_

_ooooooooooooooooo  
_

A very disgruntled Romulan stood over a securely restrained human, ready to begin an interrogation. These two may have been separated in species, time, culture, and just about everything else, but an important similarity remained: they were both captains.

"You must have a lot of questions for me. I only have one for you. I need the subspace frequencies of Starfleet's border protection grids, specifically those surrounding Earth," Nero said.

As per protocol, Pike said nothing.

With only a slight air of impatience, Nero bent down to look into Pike's face in what could be construed to be a menacing or intimidating fashion and prompted, "Christopher, answer my question."

"No. No, you answer for the genocide you just committed against a peaceful planet," Pike quipped back so very morally.

A crazed look entered the Romulan's eyes. Fervently and with the utmost conviction, he said, "No. I prevented genocide." He stood and walked through the couple inches of water around the torture chair, which actually was similar to a dentist's chair.

"Where I come from, this is a simple mining vessel. I chose a life of honest labour." As he continued to speak, he turned on a very intense set of overhead lights, which generated a holographic image of a young, Romulan woman. "To provide for myself and the wife who was expecting my child. I was off-planet, doing my job, while your Federation did _nothing._" The last word was a snarl, revealing a deeply seeded contempt. "And allowed my people to burn while their planet broke in half, and Spock, he didn't help us."

The Romulan began to pick up speed as he talked, despite Pike's somewhat weak protests that this information couldn't be correct. "He betrayed us."

"No. You've been misinformed. Romulus hasn't been destroyed. It's out there right now. You're blaming the Federation for something that hasn't happened," Pike said only when Nero finally finished.

Unfortunately, that statement proved inflammatory. "It has happened! I watched it happen! I saw it happen! Don't tell me it didn't happen!" This was shouted into Pike's face in rage.

Following that, some would consider psychotic, episode, Nero turned off the holoprojector before he continued his story. "When I lost her, I promised myself retribution; and for 25 years I planned my revenge against the Federation and forgot what it was like to live a normal life. But not forget the pain, a pain every surviving Vulcan now shares. My purpose, Christopher, is to not simply avoid the destruction of the home that I love, but to create a Romulus that exists free of the Federation. You see, only then will she be truly saved. That is why I will destroy all the remaining Federation planets, starting with yours."

"Then we only have one topic to discuss. You are also holding a member of my crew hostage. Where is she?" Pike said, seemingly calm.

"Now that, Christopher, I do not know," Nero said before walking over to a table and picking up a pair of tongs. "You will give me the frequencies to disable Earth's defences." As he spoke, he picked up an beetle-like creature with the tongs and turned toward the chair again.

"Centurian slugs. They latch onto your brain stem and release a toxin that will force you to answer." He held the slug over Pike's head and said, "Frequencies, please, Sir."

"Christopher Pike, Captain, USS Enterprise-"

"As you wish," Nero said. With that, their operation began. Needless to say, it was far from pleasant.

Regarding a certain Lieutenant Commander, Nero knew very well where she was. However, humans, being the sympathetic beings that they were, were more likely to answer if another of their kind was possibly in danger. Now, Tresina was far from danger. In fact, she was asleep on the floor back on the bridge (of the _Nerada_, of course).


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

After a good deal of waiting, Bones walked up to Jim and Sulu. He, along with everyone else, looked tired, exhausted even.

"Where does it hurt?" Bones asked promptly.

Jim pointed to the cut on his forehead. Bones motion for him to follow and led the way to an unoccupied bed. There, Jim sat while Bones began his work.

Jim tried to ignore the pain of the alcohol swab while he collected his thoughts. Only when Bones was finished did he try to get his friend's attention. "Bones..." Even as he said that, he lost his nerve, which did not often happen to James T. Kirk.

"What is it, Jim?" Bones asked roughly as he ran a tricorder over Jim's head quickly.

Jim took a breath and forced himself to say, "She's still on that ship."

Bones frowned as he paused in his work. "Who is?" he asked carefully.

Jim sighed and said hesitantly, "Ari."

Tentatively, Jim looked up at Bones. It was clear that the normally cynically calm doctor was struggling to control his emotions. He stared straight at Jim for only a second longer before he began to shake.

"We'll get her back, Bones. I promise," Jim said, trying to calm the doctor.

Bones looked fiercely down at Jim and said, "If you don't, I _will._"

The second those words were out of his mouth, he walked away to the next patient.

_He loves her. He really loves her. If she was really my sister, I think he'd be the only person I would trust with her..._

_ooooooooooooooo  
_

"Ayel! How much longer until we reach Earth?" Nero yelled.

"Eight hour twenty minutes, Sir," the major domo answered quickly as he walked toward his commander.

Nero settled back into his chair and said malevolently, "Good. Soon, we'll be free of more of the Federation." There was a dark glint in his eye, the glint of madness.

"No! You can't! Billions of people live on Earth! That's genocide!" Ari said strongly.

"Quiet!" Nero said sharply to her.

"No! I will not be quiet and stand by while you murder billions of innocent people!" she said powerfully.

Nero quickly stood and walked toward her. "I am preventing the genocide of my race. You would do the same in my position."

His intimidation tactic did little good. She spoke up yet again. "No. I wouldn't. The loss of one race does not justify the mass murder of another."

Her answer took him by surprise, but that did not stop him from asking quickly, "Why do you defend the humans? Your people aren't even a part of the Federation."

"They work for peace without going to unprovoked war," she spat back, clearly undermining the Romulan Empire.

"Romulus will not be saved until the Federation is gone," Nero said, coming to a stop as he towered over her.

"Romulus cannot survive without the Federation. The Federation holds the Klingons at bay and away from the Romulan Empire!" she insisted.

"We Romulans are strong enough to conquer the Klingons!" Nero said confidently.

"No, you're not!" Ari spat out fervently.

Silence. Every Romulan within earshot was now looking straight at Ari, and most looked far beyond angry.

Carefully, she looked back up at Nero. He looked about ready to explode. His face was green, his pupils dilated, and his hands shaking. That did not stop what came next.

Slap! Nero's fist connected with her face. She went flying backwards and hit her head, knocking her out cold.

The crew stared at their captain as he walked over to the unconscious Starfleet officer's body. He stood over it for a second and just looked at her, at the now-forming bruise on her cheek. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something, that she had said something he should have listened to, but it was too late now.

Nero looked up and walked away, seemingly calm again. These were the times when he seemed the most schizophrenic to observers.

**Thank you for the correction, _GinnyStar_.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

"Have you confirmed that Nero is headed for Earth?" Spock asked. He was pacing, anything to keep moving.

"Their trajectory suggests no other destination, Captain," Uhura said, turning from her station to watch her acting captain's face carefully. He still wasn't showing any signs, in public, of his undoubtedly churning emotions.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Spock said as he continued to pace.

"Earth may be his next stop, but we have to assume every Federation planet's a target," Jim said from his rather comfortable recline on the captain's chair.

"Out of the chair," Spock said, for a Vulcan sounding mildly annoyed.

Jim very nearly rolled his eyes, but he stood.

"Well, if ze Federation iz ze target, vy didn't zey destroy us?" Chekov speculated, joining in the brainstorming.

"Why would they? Why waste a weapon? We obviously weren't a threat," Sulu pointed out.

"That is not it," Spock said confidently. "He said he wanted me to see something, the destruction of my home planet."

"How the hell did they do that, by the way?" Bones asked. He had only joined this little group campfire to be on the bridge. At least here, he felt like he was helping to save Ari. "Where did the Romulans get that kind of weaponry?"

"The engineering comprehension necessary to artificially create a black hole may suggest an answer. Such technology could theoretically be used to create a tunnel through space time," Spock rattled off, thoroughly confusing just about everyone on the bridge.

"Damn it, man! I'm a _doctor_, not a physicist. Are you actually suggesting they're from the future?" Bones exclaimed.

"If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth," Spock explained.

To that he had no answer. However, he had the feeling that Ari would. She always knew what to say in these situations. _Wait a second..._

"Then what would an angry, future Romulan want with Captain Pike and part of our crew?" Jim asked.

"He's the captain. He does know details of Starfleet's defences," Sulu pointed out.

"Then why take the others?" Bones asked.

"A hostage, a demand for attention," Spock said simply.

"What we need to do is catch up to that ship, disable it, take it over, and get Pike and Ar- Tresina back," Jim said.

"We are technologically outmatched in every way. A rescue attempt would be illogical," Spock said.

_Not to me it isn't, you Hobgoblin!_

"Nero's ship would have to drop out of warp for us to overtake it," Chekov pointed out.

"Then what about assigning engineering crews to try to boost our warp power?" Kirk asked.

"The remaining power and crew are being used to repair radiation leaks on the lower decks and damage to subspace communications, without which we cannot contact Starfleet," Spock said.

Half way through that, Jim said, exasperated, "Okay. All right. All right. There's got to be some way-"

"We must gather with the rest of Starfleet to balance the terms of the next engagement," Spock said.

_And kill Ari in the process. Not damn likely._

"There won't _be_ a next engagement. By the time we've gathered it will be too late. You say he's from the future, knows what's going to happen, then the logical thing is to be unpredictable," Jim said.

"You are assuming that Nero knows how events will unfold. On the contrary, Nero's very presence has altered the flow of history, beginning with the attack on the USS Calvin, culminating in the events of today, thereby creating an entire new chain of incidents that cannot be anticipated by either party," Spock explained.

"An alternate reality," Uhura said in realization, simplifying the speech for everyone else.

Spock looked over at her quickly before turning back to Jim and saying, "Precisely." The acting captain then turned and walked back to the captain's chair. As he went, he said, "Whatever our lives might have been before the time continuum was interrupted, our destinies have changed. Mr. Sulu, plot a course to the Lorentian System. Warp factor three."

"Spock, don't do that. Running back to the fleet for a-a-a-a con-fad is a massive waste of time!" Jim said indignantly.

"These are the orders issued by Captain Pike when he left the ship-" Spock began to explain.

Jim interrupted again and said earnestly, "He also ordered us to go back and get him. Spock, you are captain now! You have to make-"

"I am aware of my responsibilities-" Spock shot back.

"Every second we waste, Nero's getting closer to his next target!"

"That is correct and why I am instructing you to accept that I alone am in command."

Jim began to speak over Spock nearly shouting, "I will not allow us to go backwards and hide from the problem instead of hunting Nero down!"

Spock stood. He had decided something. "Security, escort him out."

Two security personnel, or 'Red Shirts' as they are so endearingly named, came forward and took hold of Jim by his shoulders and arms. Bones watched, mystified, as Jim didn't even put up a fight, that is, until he was down the steps.

The next second, he was fighting the Red Shirts off. Before he could even finish that, Spock walked over quickly and applied the Vulcan Neck Pinch, sending him effectively into unconsciousness. The acting captain then turned to the Red Shirts and said seriously, "Get him off this ship."

_Damn it! Now we're not getting closer to her and that ship!_

ooooooooooo

The first thing Ari was aware of was something cold and smooth against her cheek. It took only a second more to realize that this was the floor. Another second ticked by, allowing her to register the fact that her cheek hurt tremendously. She winced without thinking, which brought a whole wave of pain to her cheek. When that pain had subsided, she sighed. Her cheek were likely bruised a light blue colour from the Rhodium in her blood.

Hesitantly, Ari propped herself up on her arms before looked around her. There wasn't a single Romulan in sight. _This is my chance._

Ari quickly hopped to her feet and silently ran off to a console to find Pike. After a quick search through the ship's records, she found him.

Captain Pike was secured to a table. The instruments and paraphernalia surrounding him on the nearby tables suggested that this was for torture.

Ari rushed to his side, splashing in the water at her feet as she went.

"Tresina?" Pike asked instantly, unsure if he was hallucinating.

She nodded quickly.

"Have you found a way to get away?" he asked instantly.

"No," she answered honestly.

"Listen to me, if you can get away, go. Don't think about me. Just go," he said seriously.

"I can't do that, Sir," Ari returned, shaking her head.

Pike opened his mouth to try to convince her, but Ari's head whipped around. That made her point quite clear: Nero is coming.

Almost instantly, Ari was gone, dodging behind one of the machines to wait her chance to run back to the bridge.

As she ran back, she could hear Pike's pain, and feel it. An equally strong emotion came from very near him: anger.


	15. Chapter 15

_Sorry it took so long to update! Thank you for all of the reviews! Your feedback is appreciated._

**Chapter Fifteen**

A dark form wrapped securely in a standard issue coat trekked across the ice fields of Delta Vega. He did not stop. The Star Fleet Outpost and the warmth within were still many miles away. Thoughts swarmed through his head. Plans, ideas, events, and people all were jumbled together until they became barely recognizable against the bedlam.

His thoughts were focused most clearly around two of those categories: plans and people. Of course, he was planning how he would get back to the ship, how he could stop Nero, etc. However, it was the people category to which his mind was most focused.

There were, as to be expected, thoughts of Nero, of Spock, of Bones and his emotional dilemma, and such. One thought amongst these became abundantly clear: _Ari would love this planet._

_oooooooooo  
_

Ari did not return to the bridge. Instead, she hid somewhat near where pike was being held and hoped that Nero did not notice her absence. He did.

She could easily hear the yells from the bridge. "Find her! Now!" During that whole debacle, the Romulan captain had a suspicion as to where she was. It soon proved correct when he went to question Pike. She was there, talking to him.

Instantly, Nero bore down on her and, for the second time, hit her hard across the face. This time, she did not hit her head. The water dampened the fall's force enough that she remained conscious, though she could hardly hear Pike as he said earnestly, "Stop! Don't hurt her!"

"And why would I do that, Christopher?" Nero asked cruelly as he picked up Ari by her now soaking uniform front. Unfortunately, this particular type of fabric became weaker when it was wet. Her uniform tore down the front, allowing her to drop to the floor out of his grip.

Quickly, Ari pulled her arms in front of her, trying to hide her chest. After a second, she realized that she was wearing a sports bra still. With that, it hardly mattered what more he saw as long as that and her pants remained.

Ari looked up defiantly as Nero strode menacingly toward her.

"Leave her alone," Pike said, nearly demanding this time.

Surprisingly, this caught the Romulan's attention. He swiftly turned to glare at Pike before he turned on his heel and stamped angrily away. As he went, he yelled out, "Keep her here!" Apparently, some of his men were nearby because two of them came less than a minute later to keep watch on the two of them and especially Ari.

"Are you all right, Tresina?" Pike asked, trying to look at her with his peripheral vision.

"My dignity was wounded more than anything," Ari said as she picked herself up, holding the two parts of her uniform shirt together as she did. Quickly, she tied the two together. It would hold, but she would not be using this again if they made it out of this debacle.

"Why did you try to hide?" he asked, turning his head back to a more comfortable position.

"I can't stand by while he destroys Earth. I was going to find the black hole device. Apparently, it isn't a device at all. It's a special type of matter, called 'Red Matter', which they keep in a small transport vessel. I would say it was Vulcan, but the technology is far beyond even their capabilities."

Pike nodded; he was already deep in thought over these new bits of information. The two lapsed into silence, either unsure of what to say or unwilling to speak.

oooooooooo

The Chief Medical Officer aboard the USS Enterprise was becoming quieter and quieter as the minutes lengthened into hours. Emotionally, he was shutting down.

He did not, would not, stop to ask himself why he was so intent upon this one task, why he would devote all of his energy to keeping her safe, why nothing but her seemed to matter anymore. He recognized the need that burned within him to keep her close and safe, but he dared not face it, face himself. He instead chose to ignore it. He would rather think of how he would get her back than why.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

The next time Ari woke, the sound of phaser fire was evident, despite its distance to her. She sat up, holding her head as it began to ache dully. She turned to look in the directin the sound was coming from, and, sure enough, Nero's crew was trying to shoot what seemed to be two Starfleet officers. Slowly, her eyes focused on their faces. When she did, she recognized them in an instant. Spock and Jim were here!

Ari quickly jumped to her feet and ran at the nearest Romulan. Quickly, she kicked his legs out from under him, bashed his head to the floor, and took his phaser to help the others.

Before she had gone two steps, something yanked her back by her arm, sending her sprawling. Ari groaned as she tried to flip over onto her back. A booted foot accomplished that for her, though far more brutally by kicking her. As her head rolled with the impact, her eyes met Nero's.

Ari let out a groan as the Romulan stooped down and plucked the phaser from her limp hand. "They'll stop you," she said weakly but confidently.

Nero glared at her and said roughly, "I think not." He kicked her again for good measure. However, this time hurt considerably more than the others. As Ari caught her breath, she remembered her medical training. Judging by the amount of pain, he had at the least bruised one of her ribs, most likely more.

She did not know how long she lay sprawled out on the ground before someone approached her. Her vision had gone blurry some time ago, so she could not distinguish a thing about this person other than that they wore black. Then, she heard him. Jim. "Nero, order your men to disable the drill or-"

Another dark figure hit Jim hard enough to send him sprawling. Ari rapidly blinked her eyes, trying to clear her vision and get up.

She heard footsteps as her vision cleared, followed by Nero saying, "I know your face from Earth's history."

Ari began to sit up but was met with sharp pains in her abdomen. She could hear Nero and Jim fighting not too far away. She took a deep breath and pushed herself up through the pain.

Ari turned to look at Jim. He lay sprawled on the floor, trying to get up despite rather obvious pain. She dared not call out. He would only be injured more.

Nero stalked over to Jim and began to choke him. As he did, he said, "James T. Kirk was considered to be a great man. He went on to captain the USS Enterprise, but that was another life. I life I will deprive you of just like I did your father!"

"Jim!" Ari called, unable to restrain herself any longer. She attempted to stand as Nero looked over to her, anger clear on his face.

Just then, a voice came over the comm. Saying, "Captain Nero, the Vulcan ship has been taken. The drill has been destroyed."

Nero released Jim and yelled out in rage, "SPOCK!" He ran and jumped an incredible distance to another platform, continuing to run as he landed.

Ari staggered toward Jim, but she stopped the second she saw a Romulan with a phaser approaching Jim. A second later, she tried to go as fast as she could through the pain, taking the phaser that was taken from her from the ground as she did. She quickly shot the Romulan before saying, "Jim, we have to get to Pike."

He stared at her only a second longer before nodding and hurrying over to help her. It was clear that she was fighting to remain conscious. She spoke her directions through gritted teeth as they hurried to Pike. As soon as they reached him, Jim left Ari to hang on to the table while he unstrapped the captain.

The second he was free, Jim got him off the table, supporting his weight. Ari hurried to his side, trying to stay upright. "Enterprise, now!" Jim yelled into his comm.

Seconds later, they and Spock were beamed aboard the Enterprise. The four of them looked at each other in relief. Spock also noticed Jim's rather obvious difficulties holding two people up and took Ari's arm to support her, for she was closer to him than Pike.

"Nice timing, Scotty," Jim said as they got off the pad.

A laugh came from a red-shirted engineer at the controls of the transporter. He said happily in quite the Scottish accent, "I've never beamed four people from two targets onto one pad before!"

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, the doors opened to admit medical personnel. "Ari!" Bones called, rushing to her the second he saw her.

"Leonard," she whispered weakly as he picked her up. She smiled weakly at him before allowing herself to go unconscious.

As Bones hurried out of the transporter room, one of the nurses came in and helped Pike away while the other two men hurried back to the bridge.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

Fifteen minutes later, McCoy was still attempting to bandage all of Ari's injuries. As he worked, a bright light began to shine through one of the windows, or rather one of the viewports. He looked up only to see the _Nerada_, that gigantic, menacing ship, being swallowed as by some great beast. The Red Matter had created another black hole.

McCoy did not know it, but everyone on the Enterprise which had a vantage point to this impressive event paused in whatever they were doing to watch as the ship which that had pursued was destroyed. Piece by piece, the ship broke apart and fell into the gaping darkness of the black hole. All they could see of this menace was the ring of debris which surrounded it, seemingly suspended in space whilst it was sucked into the crushing power of the hole.

In the awed silence, a serious, melodic voice spoke poetically, "Thus passes Nero, a troubled Romulan overtaken by grief."

McCoy looked down at his patient's- Ari's- bed. She was awake and sitting up. Her face was turned toward the last location of the ship, though it had just disappeared. Her face glistened in the light with tears and a silvery substance he quickly recognized as blood.

"Lie back down, Ari," Leonard said gently, deciding in a split second to care for her before he allowed the relief to flood through him.

Ari turned to look at him. Her large, silver eyes met his for a second before she set her shoulders back on the bed. He had already stitched up two wounds on her back and did not want them to come out. He finished stitching the wound on her arm, never pausing less he become distracted.

Once Leonard was finished, he allowed himself a second to bask in the relief that she was back with him. After only this long without her, he did not want to let her go again.

Ari's eyes were closed and her face peaceful. Her breathing was regular and her body finally relaxed. She was asleep. He smiled and kissed her forehead before moving on to the next patient.

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

_"Have you ever thought that what you are doing isn't the right thing to do?" Ari asked, looking up at the much taller figure of Nero._

_ The Romulan looked at her strangely and said bluntly, "No."_

_ "Perhaps you should look at this...problem... from another perspective, for instance the Vulcans. If they knew about the supernova, the Vulcans, or even the Federation, would surely have made preparations to help either save Romulus or evacuate its citizens."_

_ "Quiet! They did nothing!" he yelled angrily, stomping over to sit in his captain's chair, or more realistically his dictator's throne._

_ "How do you know? You were on a mining planet. You might not have heard of the preparations," Ari insisted, trying very hard to tune out his nearly overwhelming emotions from her mind._

_ "If they had tried, they could have saved Romulus! Instead, they watched it burn!" he insisted._

_ "Did you even stop to ask before you kidnapped one of them?" she asked._

_ Instantly, Nero's eyes flicked to hers, suspicion clear on his face. "How do you know about that?" he asked dangerously._

_ "Your men were speaking of a Vulcan. They called him Spock. They said you had kidnapped him," she explained calmly, knowing she could appeal to his more insane side to blame his men rather than her._

_ Nero snorted and said, "He watched his planet burn like the Earth is burning."_

_ Ari's eyes snapped to the view screen. Sure enough, a planet collapsing in upon itself filled the view-screen. Ari recognized the continents as part by part they crumbled into the black hole, destroyed forever by this madman. Yes, she could sense his madness like a black cloud obscuring his mind._

_ As she looked on at the destruction of Earth, Ari noticed that she could no longer feel anything around her. In fact, the ship was gone. She was floating in darkness, staring at the horror in front of her._

_ Seconds later, the Earth was gone. In its place was a vast darkness. There was no light, no sound, only emptiness. She was alone, completely alone. She could not sense anyone else's emotions, no matter how far she strained her mind. She was completely and utterly alone._

_ As she floated in this inestimable darkness, she felt a warm, comforting presence around her. It enclosed her like a cocoon, saving her from the loneliness she had thought she would endure forever._

Ari opened her eyes. She could only see one thing: Leonard standing over her, gazing down at her fondly. "Leonard?" she asked, her throat dry and her voice cracking.

"Don't talk. It'll just make your throat hurt more," he said. His voice sounded better than any sound she could imagine.

She smiled at him, truly smiled. She was back.

Though he had told her not to, she spoke once more, "I missed you."

Leonard snorted, but he was unable to keep the smile from his face as he bent closer to her and replied quietly, "I missed you, too, darling."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

The following morning, Ari was awake and fidgeting. Already she missed being able to walk around and move. She had asked Leonard, but he had shot down any request she had to allow her to even stand and walk around. At this point, she would have settled for going about in a wheelchair, but he would not even allow that. She was stuck.

She let out a sigh of frustration only to hear a soft chuckle from somewhere near her. Her eyes snapped open to see a crewman in a red shirt chuckling as he gazed at her with warm eyes. He was in his late twenties, and his face was distinctly European. She could not quite tell, but she suspected he was British. He was tall, though not just in comparison to her. His brown hair was vaguely messy, falling over his tanned face only a little, and certainly not enough to obscure his dark eyes. His build was muscular, though not overly so.

She met his eyes and asked calmly, "Is something amusing?"

"You look antsy from bein' cooped up in here," the man answered in a rather heavy Scottish accent.

"I am, but that's not the biggest issue," Ari admitted.

Scotty turned bright red and said, "Perhaps you should talk to the doctor about your...fem-"

"Not that, Scotty! My species doesn't even have a menstrual period! I was talking about the temperature!"

"It is rather chilly in here," the man lilted out.

Ari smiled and said, "I was actually thinking the opposite, but then my people prefer around 35°."

"That's Celsius, right?" he asked.

Ari snorted and said, "Fahrenheit."

"No wonder you look like a bloody ice cube," Scotty said, chuckling heartily.

"I will have you know this skin colour is highly prized by my people!" she returned jokingly.

"Oh, really? And what about yur hair an' eyes? They normal, too?" he asked, continuing the joke.

Instantly, Ari's smile dropped.

Scotty noticed instantly. "I'm sorry."

"No. It's fine. I just..." she took a deep breath and seemed almost ready to cry.

"It's alright, Lassie," he said, laying a hand on her shoulder as she bent over.

"No...It's just...These traits aren't at all normal for my people...There's an equivalent amongst you humans...I can't remember it...Where you don't have enough haemoglobin..."

"Hemo-glob-in?"

"Albino! There we are...It's just...I don't have too little...I have too much silver in my system, and it overtakes-"

"Hang on, you've got silver in you?" he asked, sounding quite alarmed.

"Yes, just as a Vulcan has copper," she said.

"So that's normal for you?" he asked, astonished.

"Yes, which is why you see this silver where my veins are," she said, holding up the inside of her wrist for him to see.

"Well, isn't that just..."

Ari smiled and said, "There is no need to be uncomfortable. I am merely different in physiology."

"...So, what's so odd about silver hair and eyes for you...whatever-you-are?" Scotty asked.

"I'm an a Lorentian, and it's very rare to have this colouration. It's prized above all other physical attributes. Those like me are...put up on a pedestal...we are held to higher standards," she said, struggling to explain as her throat attempted to close.

"What do you mean?"

"Instead of just learning Vulcan, we must learn Vulcan, English, Klingon, and Andorrian. I was forced to learn English, French, Chinese, Spanish, Lorentian, Vulcan, Klingon, Romulan, Andorian, and Tellarite," she said, listing them off quickly on her fingers.

"I'm pretty sure even Uhura doesn't know that many languages," he said, nearly laughing in disbelief.

"That wasn't the worst of it," she said, pursing her lips.

"What else can there be?" Scotty asked.

"I gained the Earth-equivalent of a Masters degree in Mathematics, Engineering, Writing, Literature, Agriculture, History, Law, Philosophy, and Music."

Scotty frowned, this time in amazement. "How?" he asked.

"I went to school for thirty years," she answered simply.

"I'm sorry," he said honestly.

Ari smiled and said, "At least it benefits me now."

ooooooooooo

The next day, Ari was allowed to return to her quarters. She left as early as she could, eager to finally be out fo sick bay.

Later that day, the scot came to sick bay. "What's wrong with you?" Bones asked, skipping the niceties of the nurses.

"Where Ari?" he asked in his lilting accent.

"In her quarters, if she knows what's good for her," Bones said, studying the other man's face carefully for any hint that he was interested in _his_ Ari. He found it.

"Thank you for that. You're the CMO, right?"

"Yeah, and you're the engineer we picked up with Jim."

"Montgomery Scott, but call me Scotty," he said, sticking out his hand to shake.

"McCoy, Leonard McCoy. Call me Bones."

_Oh, how I hate him._


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

Ari was roused from her sleep by the beeping of her door. She groaned and pushed herself up before swinging her legs over the side of the bed. A quick glance at the clock proved that she had slept the day away. The door beeped again, to her annoyance. She could sense the impatient anticipation from the person at the door. Carefully, she pushed herself up from the bed and hobbled over to the door, not sparing a thought for the short, black nightdress she wore.

She tapped the code into the control panel of the door whilst leaning heavily on the wall. Almost instantly, Jim was in front of her, supporting her with his strong arms. "Ari, sweetie? Are you okay?"

Ari groaned and said softly, "You know I don't like it when you call me that."

Jim snorted and said, "Let's get you back in bed."

"Jim Kirk! Are you trying to get into my pants?" she asked mockingly as he supported nearly all of her weight and walked her back to her bed.

Jim chuckled and retorted, "I would sooner sleep with a Klingon! You're like a little sister."

"Not so very little. I _am_ over twenty years older than you," Ari said as he set her down on her bed.

"At least your sense of humour hasn't suffered any," Jim commented.

"How could it? Injury of the body does not include injury of the mind."

"That's because you're strong, Little One," Jim said, wrapping his arms around her.

"Not so very strong now, it would seem," Ari said with a wry smile.

"You'll get better. Bones said you were healing well," he said, squeezing her shoulder gently.

"Lorentians heal slower than humans, Jim. I won't even be able to go out of my room unassisted for another week at least," Ari said, shaking her head.

"Then I'll just have to make sure there's someone to help you. Just use your communicator. Bones, Spock, Sulu, or I'll come and help you."

"Or Scotty."  
"You've met Scotty?"

"He was in sick bay for a minor injury. We talked," she said with a shrug.

"Does my little Ari have a crush?" Jim said teasingly.

"What? No!" Ari insisted, shoving at his chest.

"Why not? Is there someone else you like?"

Ari blushed silver and turned away.

"Wait, wait, wait. You do like someone. You do! Admit it! Admit it!" Jim said playfully, turning her around in his arms and tickling her.

Ari shrieked with laughter before suddenly gasping in pain and clutching her midsection.

"Oh my God! I'm sorry, Ari!" Jim exclaimed, quickly retracting his hands. Almost as quickly, he placed his hands gently over hers.

"I'm fine, Jim," she assured him, twining her fingers with his.

"Clearly, you aren't...By the way, Bones never told me what injuries you had. Care to share?"

Ari sighed heavily. "You can probably see the bruising on my face and wrist."

Jim nodded gravely. The corners of his lips quickly quirked up into a smile as he teased lightly, "At least since your room is practically at absolute zero your bruises won't hurt so much."

"Shut up! It's not absolute zero!" she prodded in return.

"Obviously, that's not all that's wrong. Care to share?"

Ari snorted. "Care to share? That is quite the expression."

"Hey! Don't mock the English!" Jim gently teased, releasing one of her hands briefly to tap her nose.

"All right, all right. Injuries..."

"How many ribs are bruised?"

"Three, and one is broken."

"Anything else?"

"No," she said simply.

"Does Bones have you on pain meds?"

"Yep, and I have to go in for a check-up once a week."

"Can I come?" Jim asked jokingly.

"Only if you hold my hand as Leonard prods at the bruises."

"It's a deal then," Jim said, swooping her up into his arms with ease. "I'll come to your doctor appointments, just like a good big brother!"

Just then, the door beeped. Jim quickly deposited her on the bed before punching in the code. However, he stopped before entering the last number as Ari asked, "Why didn't you just open the door yourself when you came?"

"I wanted to give you a chance to get dressed, not that you did," Jim said with a shrug.

"No one that's taking the time to visit me will care what I'm wearing as long as I'm wearing something," she retorted as he punched in the last digit.

The door opened as Ari took the time to read the person's, who turned out to be Leonard, emotions. Two feelings overwhelmed all else: nervousness and affection. They were quickly overshadowed by disappointment as the newcomer set eyes on Jim.

"Hey, Bones! Come to visit the little ice princess?"

"Will you stop with the names?" Ari shot from her seat on the bed.

"Not a chance, ma Cherie!"

"If you two are gonna continue your little love-fest, I'll just-"

"Love-fest?"

"What?" The two exclaimed simultaneously.

Jim, the first to regain his composure, assured the other man, "Bones, she's like my sister. I'm only like this with her because I love her." As he looked at Bones, it was clear in his eyes that the doctor also loved her, just not quite in the same way. Of course, Ari was completely clueless to this. She had long ago sensed both their feelings for her, though she could not distinguish between friendship/familiar love and romantic love.

"So how is this not a love-fest?" Bones asked.

"He's right, Jim. By the way, is anything interesting happening on the Enterprise?"

"Well, we have one more day on the Enterprise before we have clearance for Shore Leave on Earth," Jim said, walking over to sit beside Ari again.

"And when were you going to tell me this?" Ari asked.

"I wanted to surprise you," Jim said with a warm smile.

"What were you planning?" Ari asked suspiciously.

"We were all planning," Bones admitted, ambling over to plop down on the other side of the bed.

"Leonard?"

"Bones, Sulu, Chekov, Uhura, me, you, and Spock if we can convince him are going to the beach," Jim quickly explained.

"The San Francisco beach? The water's freezing!" Bones exclaimed.

"I quite liked the water temperature last time I was there."

"We were there in the winter," Jim said, reluctantly remembering.

"Yes, but she's practically an ice cube," Bones dismissed.

"Actually, it'll be about 65° Fahrenheit, warm enough for anyone that actually wants to swm. Most of us'll probably just sit in the sun."

"And stare at girls' bums?"

"Nope. I'll be looking after you. Scout's honour."

"You were never a scout, Jim."

"How would you know?"

"Really? You would never last as a scout."

"Why not? I'm in Star Fleet, am I not?"

"Jim, they operate in the wilderness. You're half city boy and half farm boy. You wouldn't last out camping for over a month."

"Point taken."

"How are you feeling, Ari?" Bones asked quite suddenly.

"Better. My ribs still hurt a lot."

"You tried to stand on your own, didn't you?"

"Yes," Ari answered sullenly.

"No more of that or you'll never recover," Bones admonished.

"Yes, Doctor," Ari returned sarcastically.

The three continued to talk well into the night.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

Ari woke to the surprise of a calendar in her face two days later. "Guess what, Ari!" a very giddy Jim asked, tossing the calendar away to pick her up with ease.

"What?" she asked groggily.

"Oh, come on, Ari! Get excited! It's the fourth!"

"Of?"

"July! Sweetie, tonight we're watching the fireworks on the beach!"

"Is this one of your Earth holidays? The fourth of July?" the Lorentian asked.

"It's Independence Day!"

"Jim, I studied Earth languages, not history," Ari said.

"Never mind the holiday, then. I'm sure Spock or Bones'll explain it. All that matters is fireworks! Come on! Get dressed! We're all beaming down in fifteen minutes!"

"Jim, that's not nearly enough time, especially in my condition!"

"That's why I'm here! I'm going to help you dress and pack!"

"No! I'm putting a swimsuit on, Jim! Get out!"

"You still can't walk on your own. How do you expect to get dressed?" Jim pointed out extremely logically.

Ari opened her mouth for a comeback before sighing in defeat. "Fine. Set me down, then go over to my closet."

"As you wish, my beautiful ice princess," Jim said, laying her down gently on the bed before hurrying to the closet.

"On the left of the shelf above the bar," Ari directed.

Jim obliged, pulling out the first swimsuit he saw: a simple, blue, one-piece halter. "Why do you even have swimsuits, anyway?" he asked, holding up the tiny suit to his own body in comparison.

"Bones taught me in my first year at the academy," she explained simply.

"Did he go swimming and mention how cold the water was?"

"Yep."

"Well, you're not wearing this to the beach. You need something a little more revealing," Jim said, tossing the suit away to search through the stack of clothes. Seconds later, he pulled out what looked like a bra but felt like a swimsuit.

"Well, well, well. You got a bottom for this?" Jim asked, grinning like a boy at the sight of it.

"You found it," Ari sighed in resignation.

"Ah, ha!" Jim said, pulling out the small bikini bottom. "Black with polka dots. It must look great on you."

Ari threw her pillow in his face. "Just give it to me, and a dress to go over it."

"Yes, my lady," Jim said, mock bowing. His smile was still fixed firmly in place. He threw the swimsuit over to her before shuffling through her dresses quickly and throwing one to her.

"Why the shirt dress?" she asked as she slipped on the swimsuit.

"Bones'd love you in it," Jim said, staring pointedly at the wall.

"Bones? He doesn't care how I look. That's why he's one of my best friends," she said, slipping the dress over her head.

"That's because he's a gentleman," Jim pointed.

"A southern gentleman," she corrected before saying, "You can look, now."

"Okay, do you need sunglasses?"

"They're on top of the dresser," Ari said, propping herself up on her elbow to grab her PADD.

Jim walked over and gently placed her sunglasses behind her ears, propped up against her forehead. "Let's go," he said with a smile, pulling her up gently.

He placed one of his arms around her waist and used it to carry most of her weight. As they walked past her dresser to the door, she snatched her straw sun hat and placed it on her head.

ooooooooooooo

Jim led Ari to the docking bay. Everyone else was already waiting for them. "What took you so long?" Bones grumbled.

"Ari here took forever to get dressed," Jim said, stealing her hat and putting it on his head. "God, your head's small!"

"Give it back, Jim," Ari said, attempting to reach up to his head. She was too short.

Bones did not like the way he was holding her. His hand was on her waist, so very close to her hip. He had dreamt of touching her, of draping his arm around her waist as they walked. Now to see Jim doing just that was infuriating. Before he could step in, Scotty came forward and stole the hat back.

"Give the lass a break," Scotty said, setting the hat back on her head gently. "There you are, Lassie."

"Thank you, Scotty," Ari said with a grateful smile.

"Are you ready, yet? Or are we going to stand here all day?" Bones asked, interrupting them.

"Vat is the problem?" Chekov asked. Clearly, he was young. He was obviously looking forward to the day at the beach.

"All right. Everyone in the shuttle," Jim said, rolling his eyes at his CMO.

They all filed in, waiting to go down to Earth.


End file.
